🏏 Sun, 22 Mar 2026 12:00 GMT
Brighton Women
vs
Liverpool Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Brighton's creative core carries a strong Chelsea accent. Fran Kirby, 32, won the PFA Player of the Year award twice at Chelsea before moving to the south coast in 2024, and the nickname "Mini Messi" still fits her close control and vision. Alongside her is Jelena Cankovic, the 30-year-old Serbia international who arrived the same summer after winning back-to-back WSL titles at Chelsea and spells at Barcelona and Rosengard. Where those two attacking midfielders pick up the ball will shape the opening exchanges.
- Fuka Tsunoda gives Brighton a distinctive option from the bench. The 21-year-old defensive midfielder joined in September 2025 from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies, where she collected five domestic honours including two consecutive WE League titles. A natural anchor who reads danger early and presses high to win possession, she is exactly the kind of substitute Brighton would turn to if Liverpool start dictating the middle of the pitch.
- The goalkeeping matchup is worth watching on its own. Chiamaka Nnadozie, the 25-year-old Nigeria No. 1, stands 180cm and joined from Paris FC in the summer of 2025 before collecting a CAF award in 2025. Facing her is Jennifer Falk, the 32-year-old Sweden international who arrived on loan in January 2026 with two league titles from BK Hacken behind her and a reputation built on positioning rather than spectacular saves.
- There is a heavy Swedish presence in the forward areas. Liverpool pair Cornelia Kapocs, 25, and Beata Olsson, 24, are both Sweden internationals and both travelled an almost identical path through Kristianstads DFF and college football with Florida State and Florida. Brighton answer with Rosa Kafaji, the 22-year-old left winger on loan from Arsenal who scored 28 goals for BK Hacken and added four in the Champions League.
- Liverpool's bench includes a familiar face at this ground. Gemma Evans, the 29-year-old Wales centre-back, previously played for Brighton as well as Bristol City, and her left foot allows her to cover both centre-back and left-back. If she is called upon, she will be defending against the club she once represented, on a pitch she knows well.
- The two captains offer a study in contrasts. Brighton are led by Maisie Symonds, 23, who joined from Chelsea's academy in 2021, captained England at under-19 level and received her first senior call-up in March 2025 before taking the armband in the summer of that year. Liverpool's is Grace Fisk, the 28-year-old centre-back appointed in September 2025, whose physical presence and organisation were honed at West Ham United.
- Height and mileage define Liverpool's back line. Alongside Fisk sit Jenna Clark, the 24-year-old Scotland international who measures 178cm, and 34-year-old Gemma Bonner, back for a second spell at the club after Manchester City, Chelsea and Racing Louisville. All three are strong in the air, which sets up a physical contest with Madison Haley, the 28-year-old American striker out of Stanford University whose game is built on strength and finishing.
- Both benches hold a Norway international striker signed in January 2026. Brighton's Aulaug Tvedten, 25, twice finished as Toppserien's leading scorer, hit 52 goals across four seasons and was named the league's player of the year in 2024. Liverpool counter with Anna Josendal, 24, the 2023 Toppserien MVP who also featured at that year's World Cup. Whoever goes to their bench first may swing the balance of the closing stages.
- Brighton's back line is an international mix. Caitlin Hayes, the 30-year-old Ireland centre-back who arrived from Celtic in January 2025, handles the aerial duels and one-on-one work, while Manuela Vanegas, the left-footed Colombia international who signed a two-year deal in July 2025, supplies accurate distribution from the left. How early that pair can engage Liverpool's rotating front line will set the tone.